


never could be sweeter than with you

by halesbunnyteeth (lautjuh1)



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, Jack is a oblivious hockey robot, M/M, Writing on Skin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-06
Updated: 2016-04-06
Packaged: 2018-05-31 15:47:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6476338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lautjuh1/pseuds/halesbunnyteeth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bitty needles his way under Jack’s skin and into his heart, until Jack falls and there’s no stopping, and maybe he thinks <i>of course I’d fall for someone who lives for his pies</i> but he pushes away the feelings, because there is somebody else out there for him, someone who writes stuff like <i>RPLCE SUGR W HONEY</i> and <i>more butter</i> and <i>BUY MILK</i> on the back of their hands and even though many people end up happily ever after with someone who is not their soulmate, Jack is still holding out hope of meeting his.</p>
            </blockquote>





	never could be sweeter than with you

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros - Home

Of course random words and scribbles have shown up on Jack’s body since he was about 10, but when he’s a teenager there starts to be some consistency in the thoughts his soulmate chooses to write on the back of their hand.

Sometimes it will just be something like _milk_  or _BUY EGGS._

Often it will be things like  _try 1,5 cup flour._

There is a frankly ridiculous amount of times that the word _butter_ decorates his skin - Jack is a little concerned for their health.

Occasionally his soulmate will write entire recipes on the palm of their hand, like they just think of a new dish and have to write it down right then and there is no paper around anywhere.

And so _of course_ Jack knows his soulmate bakes, passionately so; it was impossible to miss.

\- He’s still completely blindsided by Bitty.

The first time he meets Bitty is at Faber and so the first thing he knows about this beautiful southern boy is that he plays hockey, even if he doesn’t look like he would.

And then of course _after that_ he learns that Bitty bakes. A lot. But the fact remains that when Jack first met Bitty, Bitty was - first and foremost - a hockey player.

And Jack- well, Jack may hide it but he is secretely the romantic type and he always imagined that if and when he met his soulmate, he would just _know_. And in his mind, their first meeting would also have to be in a kitchen somewhere, his soulmate turning around with a mixing bowl under their arms and a sparkle in their eyes and they would look at each other and everything would just- fall away.

So Eric Bittle may bake, but he is not The Baker that Jack is looking for.

Because there is no such instant connection. The first time Jack sees Bitty, in the coaches' office, the kid is looking nervous, leg bouncing excitedly, and he talks way too much. The second time Jack sees Bitty, he tells him “eat more protein” because he is the Captain and he will not have any player underperform on his watch.

But Bitty needles his way under Jack’s skin and into his heart, until Jack falls and there’s no stopping, and maybe he thinks _of course I’d fall for someone who lives for his pies_  but he pushes away the feelings, because there is somebody else out there for him, someone who writes stuff like _RPLCE SUGR W HONEY_  and _more butter_  and _BUY MILK_ on the back of their hands and even though many people end up happily ever after with someone who is not their soulmate, Jack is still holding out hope of meeting his.

(Actually, now that he thinks about the amount of scribbles have seriously decreased this year. He’s not sure what’s up with that)

_(Spoiler alert: it’s because Bitty moved into the Haus and Shitty for some reason always has notebooks lying around everywhere including in the kitchen, so Bitty barely ever has to resort to writing reminders on his skin)_

And so he is completely unprepared when one day-

“I think we’re out of milk” Bitty says, absently.

Jack hums from where he’s hunched over his laptop reading an article on women and english literature: the historical context.

“Do you think we should go out on a grocery run? I think we should go out on a grocery run,” Bitty continues. “We need some more butter as well.”

“You always think we need more butter,” Jack complains, but it’s not heartfelt. “It’s like you want our team to forget all about their diet” 

“Oh hush, you, or there won’t be any cherry pie for you tonight!” Bitty replies cheerfully. He’s rummaging through a drawer. “Do you have paper somewhere?”

Jack does not, in fact, have paper anywhere because he’s only using a laptop, so he shakes his head and Bitty says something like “Huh. Oh, well” and proceeds to grab a pen and write something on his hand.

Jack doesn’t even notice straight away, because he’s too busy staring at Bitty’s long fingers and being desperately jealous of whoever it is that is getting his skin marked at this very second by the amazing being that is Eric Bittle.

It’s not, in fact, until he is putting away his laptop so he can walk Bitty to the nearest supermarket (which he always insists on doing, because he lives to torture himself and spending time with Bitty and watching the way he throws his head back when he laughs and listening to him talk for a straight half hour without acting on any of his feelings is the ultimate torture) that he notices the scribbles.

He freezes mid-movement, staring down at the words.

“Oh and Katie, you know the one with the blonde hair, not the brunette-” Bitty is saying, then falters. “Jack, you okay?”

“Yeah, uh,” Jack says with a croaking voice, finally looking up, straight into Bitty’s concerned eyes. “Just. What was it that you said we needed?”

“Oh, uh-” Bitty looks at the list, right below the knuckles of his right hand. “Milk, butter, peanut butter. Why, you wanna add something to the list?”

“Yeah, uh,” Jack is still staring at him, mind racing. “Maybe some bananas?”

“Sure thing!” Bitty says, still looking a little worried, but he picks up the pen and adds it to the list. Jack tears his eyes away to look at his own hand and watches as the word appears on there, under the already existing list. 

> _milk_
> 
> _bttr_
> 
> _pntbtr_
> 
> _bnns_

His breath catches and for a moment it’s all he registers, those words on his own skin. Then he _leaps_ forward to take Bitty’s hand in his left hand, turning it around so he can look at the by now familiar handwriting on the hues of Bitty’s tanned body.

“Jack?” Bitty asks uncertainly, and Jack slowly raises his own right hand until it’s in front of Bitty’s eyes, then turns it around.

It takes a couple moments for Bitty to process what he’s seeing but Jack can tell the moment that Bitty understands.

“Jack,” he says again. “I-”

“I know,” Jack says.

“How could we not-”

“I don’t know.” 

Bitty starts to laugh, a happy shimmer in his eyes, and he reaches out to grab Jack’s hand, that is still hovering awkwardly mid-air, threading their fingers together.

“Are you-” he starts, trailing off at the end, like he’s not sure what he wants to ask, but Jack thinks he understand anyway.

“Yes,” he replies. He is met with a cautious smile. His heart is beating faster than it ever has on ice and he feels like he is bursting out of his skin and he thinks that maybe for once in his life it is time for him to be the brave one so he takes a deep breath and he says, “I love you.”

Bitty lets out a surprised little gasp and he says “ _Jack_ ”, again, in a breathless voice and the smile on his face is full on blinding now and he looks beautiful and-

 _Of course it’s him_ , Jack thinks. _How could it ever be anyone else?_

“I love you, too,” Bitty says. The words are almost lost against Jack’s lips as they both move forward to meet halfway in an unhurried kiss.

(Later, Shitty finds them making out against the kitchen counter, groceries long forgotten, and he screams so loud the lacrosse bros from down the street come over to ask if everything’s okay)

(Even later, Bitty spends hours trying to discover all the different ways he can mark Jack’s skin without using a pen)

(Much, much later, Jack wakes up to the smell of fresh coffee and bacon and maple crusted apple pie and when he looks down at his hand he can see the clear outlines of a Very Important Question and he races through the house to the kitchen to tackle his boyfr- **_fiance_** into a bone crushing hug)

**Author's Note:**

> First posted on [tumblr](http://halesbunnyteeth.tumblr.com/post/141973504291/okay-but-ive-been-thinking-about-the-whatever). Come over to cry about these two hockey cuties with me!


End file.
